When Gary Hooper left Celtic few felt the loss more keenly than Anthony Stokes. Robbed of a like-minded foil, the Irishman has been cast up front alone for much of this season. The result? A frustrating, unfulfilling harvest of just eight goals.

By last night, he had edged into double figures after the third hat-trick of his Celtic career. And the arrival of Leigh Griffiths in January was beginning to look less like a threat and more like a godsend.

‘When you see Leigh’s performance today, he was the energy bunny,’ said manager Neil Lennon after an energetic starting debut for his £1million signing from Wolves.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch post-match reaction from Neil Lennon

Up and running: Stokes fires in Celtic's opening goal

‘He was everywhere. As the game went
on, he got more and more confident and he was very unlucky. His
all-round game today was excellent.

‘Stokesy
has been looking for someone to play with at times. He had a great
relationship with Hooper, so we’re hoping he will form a good bond with
Leigh, too.’

A scorer
against Aberdeen last weekend, Stokes now has four in two games after a
first in 15 minutes and two second-half strikes.

‘He
always has goals in him,’ said Lennon, ‘but the way he has been playing
in the past month or so, I’ve been very pleased with his all-round
game.

‘I thought his first
goal was a piece of individual brilliance. But the flow to us, the way
we defended and our energy levels were all there to see. We keep the
clean sheet record going, the unbeaten record, so there are still
incentives between now and the end of the season.

‘At the start of the year we wanted to really improve on our points total and our goals against total - and we are doing that.’

Dream day: Stokes' hat-trick was his third for Celtic

Celtic opened the scoring with the first hint of a blooming partnership between Stokes and Griffiths.

Virgil
van Dijk ran 60 yards to score the only goal in Celtic’s McDiarmid Park
win on Boxing Day and Saints manager Tommy Wright expressed annoyance
that he was once again allowed time and space to stroll forward here.

Threading
the ball to the feet of Griffiths, the new signing laid off a simple
ball for his Irish strike partner to show neat, intricate footwork,
skipping his way past some outstretched legs to bury a right-foot shot
in the corner of the net from 16 yards.

In an instant, St Johnstone’s gameplan was effectively gone.

A 4-5-1 formation was set up to minimise Celtic’s chances. But for long spells this was a hopelessly one-sided affair.

It
was a day when Fraser Forster matched Bobby Clark’s Scottish record of
12 consecutive league shut-outs whilst cruising on autopilot.

Celebrations: The Celtic players congratulate Stokes after netting the third

There was just one moment of urgency for the Celtic keeper late in the game when he reacted quickly to parry a Nigel Hasselbaink angled shot that deflected wickedly off van Dijk.

After another clean sheet, however, Forster must now withstand another 31 minutes against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday without conceding to shatter Clark’s milestone.

To some, the record is a statistical contrivance. The by-product of a one-sided procession towards a third successive title in a season with precious few talking points remaining.

But Lennon thinks otherwise, insisting: ‘He made a really important save right at the end when the ball was going one way and he stuck out one of those big legs.

‘He can be really proud of what he is doing at the minute. It means a lot to him personally. He’s got 31 minutes to go and these are great incentives for the players, not just to win the title, but to win it in a certain style.

‘He’s a fantastic goalkeeper. He’s one of the best Celtic have ever had. For him to achieve what he has achieved in such a short space of time, I think, is miraculous. For a player in the SPFL to be in the England squad, is a huge feather in his cap.’

Forster, of course, lost two goals to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup just last week in a poor Celtic display. The champions were better here but they were also untested.

The contrast between Forster’s day and that of his opposite number could hardly have been more stark.

For Alan Mannus, this was a rough
return to action. Prescribed a two-month lay-off with a broken thumb,
the keeper returned to first-team duty in place of Steve Banks after a
mere three-week lay-off.

There
were times, most of all when he lost a poor goal for the Stokes
hat-trick, when it looked a rash decision. He admitted afterwards to
making a mistake. Yet the Saints stopper was hardly helped by the
relentless one-way traffic roaring in his direction.

Wright
tried to change things by introducing Hasselbaink for midfielder Chris
Millar after an hour. His reward for adventure was two lost goals in six
minutes.

An indifferent
performer in recent weeks, Stokes answered his growing band of critics
in the Celtic support by securing his treble in jig-time.

The
second came in 64 minutes when Scott Brown’s lobbed cross from the
right side was controlled by Stokes with his back to goal, the striker
turning and thrashing a drive past Mannus from eight yards.

The
Irishman claimed his hat-trick two minutes later, collecting the ball
on the edge of the area and thumping a low, right-foot shot between the
outstretched hand of the keeper and the goalpost.

Celtic's Nigerian defender Efe Ambrose (L) had another good game

It was a welcome return to scoring prominence for a player arguably facing a challenge for his place.

‘It’s
always nice to get a hat-trick,’ said Stokes afterwards. ‘The most
important thing, though, is the performance and the three points.

‘It’s just an added bonus as a striker but I am delighted for the boys at the back again today.

‘I have played better in other games this year and not scored.

‘But it’s my job to put the ball in the back of the net.

‘I haven’t been prolific this season, but that’s four in the last two games - so hopefully I can keep going.’

The
only thing missing here was a Griffiths goal. He blew a diving header
in the opening stages and looked to have claimed his first strike late
in the game when he chipped into the net before spotting an offside
flag. Wrongly, claimed his manager. A final swirling shot from the edge
of the box was just inches wide.

There
was enough evidence to suggest there will be plenty of goals from the
Scotland player. And a few along the way for his new partner-in-crime
Stokes.